The Circle Progression – King of Chord Changes

By Darren DeFranco

Hey guys,

Today we’re going to look at perhaps the strongest chord progression in all of music – the circle progression. The reason this progression is so powerful is because each chord is essentially the V of the following chord. And remember, V chords always have the strongest pull back to a I chord. You’ll notice there is an easy pattern going on as you travel from chord to chord that is very simple to visualize on the guitar. If you are on the sixth string, your next chord will be on the same fret on the fifth string. And if you are on the fifth string, your next chord will be on the 6th string two frets down. The cool thing is, when this progression is complete, you’ll be back where you started.

While few songs use this progression in its entirety, many songs borrow a few chords from it to make its progression. It is very strong and creates a solid harmonic backbone to any song regardless of genre.

We hope you guys enjoy the lesson! Have fun!

Master this chord progression and try taking a few chords from it to create your own progression